[meteorite-list] 1900 era New York Times Meteor Wrong Articles

From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 11:59:38 -0600
Message-ID: <BAY111-F10C314A138122B9D5B1276B38C0_at_phx.gbl>

Hello listoids,

A few New York Times meteoritic articles from the same time period.

Clear Skies,
Mark


Paper: The New York Times
City: New York City, New York
Date: Sunday, November 14, 1897
Page: 1 (of 24)

MESSAGE PERHAPS FROM MARS.

Strange Characters Found in an Aerolite Which Struck the Earth Near
Binghamton.

     BINGHAMTON, Nov. 13. - Scientists in this city are puzzling over an
aerial visitor that dropped in this vicinity early this morning. Prof.
Jeremiah McDonald, who resides on Park Avenue, was returning home at an
early hour this morning when there was a blinding flash of light and an
object buried itself in the ground a short distance from his premises.
Later it was dug up and found to be a mass of some foreign substance that
had been fused by intense heat. It was still hot, and when cooled off in
water was broken open. Inside was found what might have been a piece of
metal on which were a number of curious marks that some think to be
characters. When opened, the stone emitted a strong sulphurous smell.
     Prof. Whitney of the High School declared it an aerolite, but different
from anything he had ever seen. The metal had been fused to a whitish
substance, and is of unknown quality to the scientific men who have examined
it. The aerolite is now on exhibition and will be placed in the geological
collection of the High School. Several persons have advanced the opinion
that this is a message from another planet, probably Mars. The marks bear
some resemblance to Egyptian writing, in the minds of some. Prof. McDonald
is among those who believe the mysterious ball was meant as a means of
communication from another world.

(end)


Paper: The New York Times
City: New York City, New York
Date: Friday, November 17, 1899

METEORITE WRECKS DWELLING

Tears Away Part of Upper Story and Buries itself in the Ground

     Crescent, Ill. Nov. 16. - By the falling of an aerolite seven miles
south of Crescent City the residence of John Meyers was partially wrecked
and the neighborhood was panic-stricken.
     The meteor came from a point in the sky a little east of south and
struck the north end of the house, tearing away at part of the upper story.
The aerolite buried itself in the ground about three feet from the
foundation of the house.

(end)

Paper: The New York Times
City: New York City, New York
Date: Friday, July 13, 1900
Page: 2 (of 12)

METEORITE IN MISSISSIPPI

Visitor from the Heavens Explodes and Wrecks a House.

Special to The New York Times

     NEW ORLEANS, La. July 12. - The village of Bellefontaine, in Webster
County, Miss., thirty miles in the interior from this place, was the scene
last night of the fall of an aerolite, or meteoric stone, which completely
wrecked the large storehouse of Hodge & Mabry, and destroyed the stock of
goods contained in it.
     The fall of the aerolite occurred between 9 and 10 o'clock, during a
perfectly clear moonlight night. The destruction of the building was
preceded by the appearance of a ball of fire passing swiftly through the
air. It gave off during its passage enough light to greatly increase the
light from the moon. As it came near a loud explosion was heard and a shower
of fire burst forth from all sides of the blazing mass, having the
appearance of hundreds of falling stars. The storehouse was wrecked
simultaneously with the explosion.
     The explosion of the aerolite caused a report like the sound of distant
thunder or the roll of far-away cannon. The debris of the house is being
cleared away in search of the aerolite. It has not yet been found. Some of
the searchers say that its velocity buried it in the ground. Others assert
that the stone shattered into meteoric dust when the explosion occurred.
Many cinders of a gray gritty metal appearance have been found in the
wreckage.

(end)

Paper: The New York Times
City: New York City, New York
Date: Thursday, April 19, 1906
Page: 10

FOUND METEOR FRAGMENT

Cemetery Workman Digs Up One Buried for Twelve Years

Special to The New York Times

     RAHWAY, N.J., April 18. - John Godfray, in excavating for a monument
today in Hazlewood Cemetery, dug up a meteor fragment weighing 25 pounds. It
seemed to be composed of fused minerals, glass, stone and steel. There is a
mixture of vari-colored stones intermingled through the otherwise gray mass.
     Twelve years ago Keron Kiernan, keeper of the cemetery, while at work
one afternoon, heard a whistle, like escaping steam, coming through the
clouds overhead. Then came a bright light, an odor of sulphur filled the
air, and about fifty feet from where he stood a missile buried itself in the
ground scorching the grass about and melting the gravel where it fell. The
opening showed the object to have buried twelve feet deep. Since then it
has gradually worked to the surface.

(end)
Received on Sun 25 Feb 2007 12:59:38 PM PST